IT’S FRINGE BIG-SHOT TIME!

It’s that time again, ladies and gents; time to reflect on the MN Fringe. Was this the greatest year in the festival’s history? Sure felt like it. However, here are just a few things I would look at if I were a MN Fringe big-shot. Awaaaaaaaay we go!

Blue Chip Shows — I know, I know…I had this one last year. But it makes sense, no? Take the 20 most-successful shows from this year’s festival (top 10 best-selling and top 10 highest house percentage) and throw them in their very own lottery for next year. Pull out — oh, let’s say 10 balls — and the rest go in the general lottery. It gives the most successful shows an actual reward (for most shows, the Encore isn’t much more than a boost to the ego) and it also guarantees a handful of proven players in the next season’s Fringe. I don’t see a down side.

Fringe Passport — I’m still in love with this idea (see “buck the button”).

Ditch the Encore — I think most people will disagree with me here. The Encore slot at the MN Fringe seems to be pretty popular among the Fringe Faithful. But let’s really look at it. The Fringe has a difficult time promoting the Encore because the only thing they have to promote is a slot. The average fringe-goer is interested in specific shows, not slots. Because of this, the Encore tends to be attended only by artists and the hardest of hardcore fringers, which tends to make the Encore the lowest-attended performance for these normally well-attended productions. Another downside to the Encore is that it creates an uneasy level of competition among shows that share Fringe venues. I heard of several producers/cast members who were holding off from seeing other shows in their venue simply because they didn’t want to give an advantage to a competing show. That sucks. That sucks hard. Now…if we have to keep the Encore forever and ever, we should at least tweak it a bit. How, you ask? Well…

Super Size the Encore — If we’re going to keep this GD Encore slot, let’s make it a bigger deal. Figure out a way to end the festival with two days of solid Fringe Encores. This year, there were 14 venues, right? So why not take the last Saturday and the last Sunday and let one Encore performance at a time go up? This would give fringers a chance, at least, to see every single one of the Encores. Now, of course there would be many that would sell out, but how fun would that be? People racing around, trying to snag a seat to the next Encore production. Houses absolutely packed. Old people being trampled. I love it!

Git a Rope — Lines at this year’s Fringe were awesomely huge. But the signage at this year’s Fringe was awesomely not. I attended numerous shows where the poor little signs were impossible to see through the mobs of people. How are patrons supposed to queue up properly if they can’t see the signs? Answer: hang ‘em. Just figure out a way to hang the signs from the ceiling so that even though 843 people are in the Intermedia Arts lobby, I can still see which line I’m supposed to be in.

Fun Stuff @ 10?? — I didn’t really understand why the fun stuff at Fringe Central always started at 10p. Not only is 10p a historically shitty time slot due to the sleep factor, but now Fringe shows have to compete with a Fringe Central dance party or karaoke or trivia night? Would it really be so terrible to start that stuff at 11p? C’mon, Fringe!

Allow the Merch — The Fringe said “no” to producers who wanted to sell merchandise at their venue this year. Actually, they said they’d do it for you at Fringe Central for a $25 fee. How sweet. The problem, of course, is that nobody — NOBODY — is going to want to buy a Tragedy of You tee unless it’s right before or after they see Tragedy of You. Also, what does a producer make on a t-shirt sale; maybe $5? I’m no math wizard, but that seems like five t-shirts just to break even…with the Fringe. Barf. The Fringe claimed that this rule was implemented to cut down on traffic at the venues. I call shenanigans on that. They wanted to squeeze a few more dollars out of producers…and that’s so very un-Fringe.

Fringe Trolley — Okay. I realize that this one is big-time pie-in-the-sky…but how cool would it be if the Fringe could figure out some sort of Fringe bus that would constantly travel around from venue to venue? Or maybe it could at least encourage people to get their butts out of the Rarig Center for a show or two. I admit that I’ve got nothing more to this idea. But I’m sure it’ll be super easy to do and I expect the MN Fringe to have at least four gigantic, double-decker fringe buses at next year’s fest. Done and done.

NO GUTHRIE CORP. — Last but not least, let’s cut the G Corp. infatuation already. The number of fringe producers and performers (and even patrons) who want to spend time at Guthrie Corp. can probably be counted on two hands. Why does the Fringe keep trying with that place? After the most amazing festival in MN Fringe history, the closing night shindig was an embarrassment. The “specials” sucked, the atmosphere was cold, and the place was frustratingly gigantic. Remember Pretty in Pink when Blane dragged Andie to Steff’s mansion for a party? Yeah, Fringe. It was exactly like that.

Well, there you have it. The MN Fringe is now, at the very least, 17% better. You’re welcome.